Queen’s “Mustapha” Lyrics Meaning

The title of this Queen track (“Mustapha”) is in fact a name of Muslim origin. And accordingly, perhaps the simplest way to describe the lyrics, at least on the surface, are as a shoutout to Muslims. 

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Queen's Mustapha at Lyrics.org.

Indeed let’s get this out of the way from the jump – it comes off as a bit unconventional for a Western, English-speaking artist to come out with a song where the names “Mustapha” and “Ibrahim” are repeated throughout. 

Then on top of that we have various mentions of “Allah”, the name of God as far as Muslims are concerned, as well as the lyrics concluding with the “alaikum salaam”, i.e. the traditional Muslim greeting.

But those three key terms, “Mustapha”, “Ibrahim” and “Allah” noted, on top of the song perhaps appearing simple enough to the naked eye, doesn’t mean it’s actually easy to understand. 

Take for starters that it is recited in three different languages – or at least two actual languages, English and Arabic, as well as what some have described as “Persian-emulating gibbering”. The latter was made possible by the fact that Freddie Mercury (birth name Farrokh Bulsara) is of Parsi, i.e. Persian, i.e. Iranian descent. 

So it is discernable that during some junctures of the composition, he is imitating said language. But it also seems, as implied earlier, that during those junctures he isn’t actually saying anything. So it’s almost like he was scatting in Persian.

Lyrics of "Mustapha"

A Treasured Religion being Mocked?

Now most people reading this probably don’t need to be told that Muslims can be very sensitive concerning their religion. This is also something Mercury was more than likely aware of, considering that again his birth name (“Farrokh”) is actually from an Islamic background.

Then there’s the recognition of the fact that the intro of the song sounds like a Muslim prayer. And at some points one can even say that the song comes off as being, all things considered, somewhat mocking. So yes, some people did view this as an anti-Islam track on behalf of Queen.

But at the same time, it’s also pretty clear that the Mercury and co. are having fun with the tune.  

“Mustapha” is definitely more lighthearted than the usual Queen fare. It is almost like a freestyle both lyrically and instrumentally. But again, they’re playing with some very-sensitive subject matter.

Well, maybe songs of this nature being released by a major band was more-tolerable back in the 1970s than it has become since, in the social-media age for instance. Moreover, Queen is from the UK, traditionally one of the more-liberal nations in the world, and they had the full right to drop songs like this if they so desired. 

And the way they utilized “Mustapha” in some live performances suggests that they perhaps intended it to be one of those songs which are critical of religion – a common theme in pop music. However, in this case it targets Islam as opposed to say Catholicism.

Conclusion

That being noted, apparently no one really made a big stink out “Mustapha” when the song was first released. Yet at the same time, Queen never made it a regular part of their shows. 

So perhaps we can conclude something like if they had used the same sound to put together a track that didn’t have potentially-offensive or off-putting religious references, maybe this selfsame “Mustapha”, with completely-different, discernible lyrics could have been a hit. But instead it serves as one of quite a few examples of singles Queen dropped in the 1970s that didn’t chart in any country.

Release Date of “Mustapha”

It was released as single number 3 from Queen’s “Jazz” album. It officially came out in April of 1979 by EMI, the same label that supported other classic British groups such as The Beatles and The Police.

Like Michael Jordan once famously put forth, all because a person has won a lot doesn’t mean they haven’t lost a lot also. And as noted earlier yes, this single from Queen’s album “Jazz” did in fact bomb. However, the project overall was a success, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. 

And another single from that undertaking was “Don’t Stop Me Now” (1979), a certified Queen classic that was featured on the movie “Shaun of the Dead” (2004).

Mustapha

Who wrote “Mustapha”?

“Mustapha” was written exclusively by the late Freddie Mercury (1946-1991). And the entirety of Queen produced it in conjunction with accomplished English musician Roy Thomas Baker.

The song’s lyrics are made up of at least three different recognized languages. These languages are:

  • English
  • Persian
  • Arabic

There is also a fourth language. However, the said language makes no sense. By virtue of that, it is safe to conclude that the fourth language you hear in “Mustapha” isn’t a real language. Mercury apparently just made it up.

Queen

Queen is considered to be one of the most-classic bands in pop music history. They are responsible for two of most heavily-utilized rock songs in history, “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You“, both of which came out in 1977. 

And they ventured into the 1980s dropping a comparable hit which perhaps every English-speaking sports’ fan is aware of, “Another One Bites the Dust” (1980). 

Indeed by all indications Queen would’ve kept dropping hits into perpetuity, but their eccentric frontman, Freddie Mercury, passed away from AIDS in 1991. 

However, the band is still active heading into the 2020s, albeit with only guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor remaining, though they regularly team-up with American singer Adam Lambert on vocals.

16 Responses

  1. Myada says:

    It was very helpful article for me. I am Muslim and I always wonder about what is this song mean?

  2. Anon says:

    Freddie did not come from an Islamic background. His parents were Zoroastrian

    • Anonymous says:

      Mustapha was NOT released as a single anywhere, other than in Eastern Europe, where it was coupled with Dead On Time. If it had been released in the UK, USA or Japan, it would have charted the same as the other singles from Jazz. Mercury’s ancestors had moved from Persia (Iran) to India hundreds of years earlier. Both parents were Indian, and he was Africa-born.

      • Anonymous says:

        Mustapha was released as Single at least in Germany and Spain. Very un-eastern, very Europe.

      • Sable says:

        How uninformed and uneducated.
        It was released as a single in four countries on two continents. Germany and Spain are not Eastern Europe and I think they may take issues with your assertion of where they lie, even if the wall hadn’t yet fallen in Berlin.
        Mercury’s ancestors may have moved away from Persia but, as EVERY American will tell you whose ancestors moved there hundreds of years ago – that means nothing. Trump still thinks he’s Scottish, Biden thinks he’s Irish – neither have any close connection to those places. And Mercury’s birth name IS Persian, so the family obviously still felt a connection to the land of their ancestors.
        No, this song would not have charted in the UK due to the insensible ‘foreign’ lyrics. Brits are funny about such things. The number of non-English songs that have charted in the UK is abysmally tiny. The band and record company knew this.

        It’s fine to have an opinion – it’s not fine to make sh-t up and pass it off as fact to try to justify your opinion. Knowledge is not hard to acquire when almost the entirety of the world’s knowledge is quite literally at your fingertips.

    • idiot says:

      Maybe it was his ancestors? Maybe his parents got inspo from that.

    • Ryan Johnson says:

      His born in zanzibar and india this place is the most muslim kondomc peoples

  3. Sousio says:

    Farrokh is actually a Persian name, even common in Sassanid (pre-Islamic) era in Iranshar (Persian Empire). In this case, he’s named Farrokh after the Zoroastrian tradition of his Parsi ancestors (who had been displaced by Muslims).
    Even today you can rarely find any Farrokh name outside of Iran, while traditionally the Islamic names always have an Arabic origin.

    • Anonymous says:

      Actually, Farrokh exists in Arabic as well, and is used a lot in Arabic and Muslim countries. In fact, it was the nickname of Omar Ibn Alkhattab, the second of the Muslim rulers who came after the death of Muhammad.
      However, in Arabic it is more common to spell it as Farouq or Farouk.

  4. Anonymous says:

    For me, the question remains.
    Is it or isn’t it a song that could be seen as offensive to Islam.
    I can only assume that the fact that the Muslim population has not (apparently) taken issue with it, it must be OK.

    • Anonymous says:

      May be they are not aware the song exist?

    • Sable says:

      No. It is not and could not be seen as offensive. It doesn’t belittle the Prophet Mohammed or any of the prophets. It does not deride the religion. All it does is cast a prayer that is common in that religion and say some names of prophets repeatedly. And then use a form of Farsi that is unintelligible to anyone of Parsi heritage as it appears to be gibberish – much like ‘radio gaga, radio googoo’.

      There is quite literally nothing offensive about it.

      • helping:) says:

        actually it is offensive and ill explain why:
        you see in islam music itself is forbidden.
        so the almighty god (ALLAH swt) to be put in a lowly song is forbidden. it doesn’t neccessarrely have to only do with it ONLY being offensive when the prophet Muhammed sala ALLAH hu aleihu wa alihi wasalam being disrespected.
        i actually don’t know why i haven’t seen any muslims talking about this, but here i am clearing things out for you. hope this helps

  5. Burnsey says:

    Wonder what the “fattist” cohort would make of Fat Bottomed Girls? Or the paedophile hunters fro that matter. “ I knew life before I left my nursery “

  6. Allan Bonadio says:

    I knew it! Mustapha Ibrahim is a real person.

    https://www.fm6oa.org/en/membre/sheikh-mustapha-ibrahim-president-of-the-section-of-ghana/

    “Sheikh Mustapha Ibrahim is a widely sought after Islamic Scholar and prolific Author of pedigree with about 20 books …to his credit. He is among the very few African Islamic scholars who have had the benefits of both old traditional or classical Islamic training…and the modern secular or western model. … research and book translation … formed the Islamic Books Distribution & Translation Council in 1982 … he translated or collaborated in translating several Islamic books, including the Holy Qur’an, from Arabic to English and a number of languages such as French, Hausa, Twi, Dagbani …”

    And still alive:
    https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/chief-imam-mustapha-ibrahim-among-500-global-icons.html

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